Misspent youth catching up

[snowyskiesau]

At a recent diabetes checkup, I mentioned to the doctor a a sore that wouldn't heal which I assumed was diabetes related. It turned out to be basal cell carcinoma and a further check revealed a few more suspect marks. The big one was removed last week and the biopsies showed positive for the others so more slicing and dicing in a week or two.
This is (probably) the result of teenage years spent on the beach as I can't remember when I last caught any sun!

I've just found out one of the problems of living in rural Tasmania, a lack of medical services on a weekend. I had the stitches removed yesterday and today the wound decided to re-open.. My only option to get it dressed is a 60 km drive into Hobart! Not an ambulance situation but nor really able to drive without it bleeding again. I should buy a proper first aid kit and learn how to use it.

Actually the worst bit is that I cooked a steak for dinner but can't cut it up :C

[dai sensei]

Wasn't your staple gun handy :U:U. Seriously though, not good, hope it heals up ok

[Big Shed]

Pity about the steak!

Hope it heals quickly mate:2tsup:

[snowyskiesau]

Back into surgery this afternoon to have the damage repaired.
As the existing incision can't be restitched, it will me made a little larger and the new edges stitched.
This time, the stitches will remain in place a little longer and be removed in stages. Another couple of weeks of light duties!

My right nipple is gradually getting further up my chest :)

[snowyskiesau]

Back to the doctor this morning to get two more carcinomas removed from my left arm. As one is right on the inside bend of the elbow, I have to be careful using the arm so the stitches don't pull out so no shed for me for a couple of weeks.
What I thought was just a shaving mark is (probably) another one and will be biopsied when the stitches are removed from today's surgery.

The only good news is that my latest diabetes test results are good, well not good but 'improving'.

[brontehls]

Don't want to hassle you but what is a shaving mark??

Not game to ask the doc at the moment as he is totally confounded by my gall bladder and pancreas

"you should be dead" - your organs do not conform to normal rules

Neil

[snowyskiesau]

Don't want to hassle you but what is a shaving mark??

Neil

I thought it was just a nick from shaving which typically take a while to heal as every time you shave, it makes it worse. Doc says otherwise.

[Big Shed]

Back to the doctor this morning to get two more carcinomas removed from my left arm. As one is right on the inside bend of the elbow, I have to be careful using the arm so the stitches don't pull out so no shed for me for a couple of weeks.
What I thought was just a shaving mark is (probably) another one and will be biopsied when the stitches are removed from today's surgery.

The only good news is that my latest diabetes test results are good, well not good but 'improving'.

You're in the wars a bit at the moment mate, hope things will be on the up and up soon.

Weather getting cold enough for the fire yet?

We're in Maryborough Qld atm, lovely weather here.:;

[snowyskiesau]

The chance of a basal cell carcinoma spreading to something worse is very rare but my doctor likes to be sure so recommends surgery as soon as possible after discovery.
The surgery is minor (about 1 hour this time), no pain to speak of but this last one has an incision right on the bend of the elbow so I'm wearing a sling to remind myself not to stretch it too much..
My doctor had a student present so I get to learn a lot about the procedure as the doctor explains things. I can ask the student question without distracting the person wielding the knife. I like to think I'm helping train Australia's future doctors:)

The heater is definitely on (no wood fire this year). A cold snap yesterday left snow on many of the nearby peaks (down to 400 metres). At the moment it's settled down to wet, windy and generally miserable. Hope the weather up north on the big island is better.

[Blocklayer]

My right nipple is gradually getting further up my chest :)

It's like a face lift. I've had 2 cut from my forehead above my right eye (hairline is a common place) and it gets rid of the wrinkles. (Can be hard to close your eye for a while though)

I've had ~ 15 suspected skin cancers cut out and sent for testing so far. Some cancerous, some not. (no real nasties as yet)
My doctor (bloody good with a knife and needle) reckons he's sending me to Cairns (nearest pathology) bit by bit.

Now, if anything doesn't heal, or something looks odd, I just duck in to the doc (only 36 km away) and he cuts it out to test.
Keeps the skin tight, removes ugly marks, and feels good to know the possibly bad bits are gone.

If you have a sore that doesn't heal, or a spot or mark that looks odd, get it checked.

[Chris Parks]

My father had a standing monthly appointment with a skin specialists as he had spent many years working in the sun but worse was the UV light he used to treat his Psoriasis.

[bobbo]

I thought I would share my own experience. I am 83 and reasonably healthy and active, a state which is probably down to my genes and good luck, certainly not to brains and intelligent care.
I spent most of my life in the building trade, in Queensland, and my leisure time sailing, in the days when most men worked without a shirt.
when I reached my sixties I started to fall victim to skin cancers. At first, I went doctors who cut them out ( which was neither cheap nor painless) some were malignant, some were not.
I then stumbled upon what used to be called cansema . (It is now sold as Black Salve) Whenever I found a suspect I would apply it. Some reacted some did not, as you might expect. My wife also used it with the same results. Some of the reactions were deep and quite painful, and some left scars but it worked.
Some people have uttered dire warnings . Some doctors throw up their hands in horror, and some just ask about its effects,
I certainly have no connection with selling this stuff, but my own experience and the experiences of many friends who have tried it for over twenty years has been positive.
I make no accusations: But I note the increasing appearance of clinics specifically for skin cancers: I also note that few if any, people presenting leave without a procedure; and they do not come cheap.
I think, as, in many aspects of life on this planet, you must draw your own conclusions and have the courage to bear the costs if you are wrong.
I have not written this to attempt to change any minds, I simply record my own experience.
Best of luck,
Bobbo.

[cava]

I have used 'Black Salve' successfully, but be warned that it does eat away skin/flesh aggresively if not careful.

I used some for longer than I should have (overnight on my forehead), and it left a hole circa 15mm wide and to the bone. Took quite awhile to close up and many visits to the doctor, to get rid of the scar - the upshot was that the skin cancer was eradicated in this spot which I had been struggling with.

I can recommend it, but be careful especially if the area of application is in a visible area.

[bobbo]

I have used 'Black Salve' successfully, but be warned that it does eat away skin/flesh aggresively if not careful.

I used some for longer than I should have (overnight on my forehead), and it left a hole circa 15mm wide and to the bone. Took quite awhile to close up and many visits to the doctor, to get rid of the scar - the upshot was that the skin cancer was eradicated in this spot which I had been struggling with.

I can recommend it, but be careful especially if the area of application is in a visible area.

Yes. I agree. The results of unrestrained use can be scary. I am careful how I use it , but I had one rather scary application (four in number) on my right temple where years of driving with the Sun on the right side of my face had wrought it's nasty work. As I say, it took four goes and a lot of red swollen, painful results before I had got to the end of the cancer. That was almost ten years ago and so far there has been no repeat. But I think we should ask ourselves would any doctor have dared to cut that deep to get to the roots of the cancer? Especally in a place like the temple next to an eye? Who could blame them for their restraint? But it was my eye...my risk! If things had turned nasty I had no one to blame but myself. But what was the alternative? Ignore it and let the cancer grow? Have it MOSTLY cut out....and let the remains of the cancer grow? Or, as in your case where the cavity went to the bone.
I think my basic concern is that this is a treatment that seems to have a very useful potential for cheap and effective healing. As Cava's experience attests, it is possible, and sensible, to combine black Salve treatment with qualified medical treatments if and when neccessary. The suspicion arrises that polititicians have been successfuly lobbied to ban a useful product, not to protect our health, but to protect the incomes of a lobby group.
I think this branch of the forum serves a useful function where people can air their genuine concerns and find an audience; an audience that can weigh up what they read and make up their own minds without being badgered one way or the other.
Bobbo.